Christmas 2008 Pictures

Just a few pictures of our Christmas with the Ibbotson side of the family in Canmore and then with the Hunt side of the family in Three Hills. We are so blessed!

1) Caleb walking with cousin Amanda in some special slippers!












2) After we popped our "firecrackers" Caleb was officially crowned the prince!












3) Caleb with his first Christmas present from mommy & daddy - a tonka truck!









4) Caleb opening a present with Grandma Dorothy!

Book Review - Living Rich for Less by Ellie Kay

Although I have only read the first few chapters of this book, Living Rich for Less by Ellie Kay, I can say that I am initially disappointed. My expectations were for a book that would assist a family in finding creative ways to save money in both the present and for the future while still cultivating a spirit of generosity.

The 10/10/80 principle - give 10%, save 10%, and live on the remaining 80% - is clearly articulated at the start of the book and is commendable. Personally, I found the author's story hard-to-believe - that she married a fighter pilot who had two children from a previous marriage, was $40K in debt, and then proceeded to be a stay-at-home mom for years with the birth of five children in seven years... and still was able to pay off the debt and purchase eleven cars and two five-bedroom houses for cash (presumably replacements for vehicles and houses), save for the children's college education and for their retirement.

In terms of giving 10% and the importance of passing on the principle that "the sweetest dollar you ever make is the one you give away," the author shares some creative ideas. At this point one of the issues of the book emerges - an overall tone of a Tony Robbins seminar or a "Get Rich Quick" pep rally with a lot of Chicken Soup moments combined with a financial advisor. Really sweet, some maybe that might even be tear-jerkers, but ultimately they are cute testimonials that are hardly representative of what most children/adults/families can do. So far Living Rich for Less feels like being at a seminar, not reading a book.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the financial benefits of giving (ie how to make charitable donations productive in terms of taxes) and in the discussion of saving 10%, the specifics are primarily for the American tax system and expressed in terms one might expect from a former broker (ie. not in the language of your everyday non-accountant).

The final concern is that there is really no explanation of "why?"... except perhaps to give more away. There seems to be the perpetual expectation that each person/family should give more, save more, and then spend nicely (though not lavishly)... and yet there does not yet seem to be a presentation of when is enough, enough. Is there ever a point of contentedness? Admittedly, I have not finished reading the book so perhaps this is coming. I'm hoping so...

A couple "political" comments

Today, a couple reflections on the world of politics.

First, nationally I think Canada is truly blessed right now to have two very intelligent men in the leadership of the nations two political parties: Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative party and Michael Ignatieff, newly chosen leader of the Liberal party. Certainly intelligence does not mean these men will be good or moral leaders. I read a book my David Gergen during my graduate studies at Gonzaga, and it was his opinion that Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton were the most intelligent presidents in 20th century in the USA. Many of Canada's leaders have been good political figures who are diplomatic (not surprising in Canada, eh?) though generally not recognized as intellectually astute. The early signs are that the two political parties are once again willing to work together to assure that the affairs of the country are governed well... this is hopeful!

Secondly, the international incident of the last few days... the reporter, Muntather al-Zaidi throwing his shoe at US president George W Bush at a press conference in Iraq. This itself is a sign of how much "freedom to dissent" now exists in Iraq... yet this freedom of speech/dissent is even more evidenced by the thousands reportedly "protesting" in the streets for al-Zaidi's release and calling him a hero. Again, though I'm not a huge George W Bush fan, one must admit that this story illustrates precisely the purpose of the US (and UN) forces entering Iraq. Can you spell I-R-O-N-Y?

A day in Caleb's life (9 months old)

Mommy took most of these pictures and daddy decided to post them on his blog so you can see what I keep them busy with most of the day. (Admittedly these pictures are not all from the same day) Enjoy!

Sometimes I get to start my day by visiting mommy & daddy's bed when I wake up. Usually this is only on Saturdays, but it was a Flex Friday this week to I got to do this two days in a row! I am always smiling and ready to go for the day.

I didn't even know the song, but I got my two front teeth this last week... just in time for Christmas. Mommy feeds me the most wonderful food at the table, and this week I got to chew a piece of celery. (Dad made a lame joke about "Now I really am starting to chew away his "salary." Oh well, at least my grandpas will appreciate the pun.)

Along with lots of good meals, I enjoy playing with my many toys!

However, I am also learning to be helpful, especially to mommy now that I am 9 months old. This week I helped to do the laundry, specifically with the drying of my wonderful (cloth) diapers. I'm sure a helpful fellow!

I do like to walk around the house lots and my dad is willing to help me. We have lots of fun! Both me and daddy had a red sweater and a pair of blue jeans on this day, so mommy thought it would be a nice picture.

At the end of the day, I very much enjoy my bath time! I play with the rubber duckies in the tub and I also like to splash in the water... lots!

After that, I have a little bedtime snack, we read my Bible story and pray, and then I usually doze off in mommy's arms.

Book Review - The Greatest Words Ever Spoken by Steven K Scott

The opportunity to participate in another blog tour courtesy of Multnomah WaterBrook Press this time has me reviewing a book titled, "The Greatest Words Ever Spoken." Overall, this will be a useful resource, though the title and a few of the jacket recommendations (eg. "For the first time in 2000 years all the statements of Jesus are organized into practical, easy-to-find topics" and a quote from Chuck Norris "Incredible! This amazing book enables us to quickly find everything Jesus said about each important question, issue and problem we'll ever face...") over-hype the book a bit!

For all intents and purposes, this is a partial topical Bible... the reader can follow the book in a sequence of nine main topics (chapters) that include a number of sub-topics or one can use the table of contents at the beginning of the book or the index at the back of the book to look up a specific topic. It uses the New Internation Verson translation. Rather than presenting the whole Biblical teaching on the topic, this book simply presents the words of Jesus on the topic, beginning with the Gospel of John and then following the words of Jesus in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark & Luke). A few non-Gospel words of Jesus are included from other NT books also.

Scott nicely includes a brief introduction to each chapter (main topic) and once in a while comments briefly at the start of a sub-section. Fortunately, the comments are quite uncontroversial - he does not try to get into theological discussions; he simply tries to introduce the topic and its importance. One wonders if a few summary comments would have also been appropriate at the end of each chapter, reviewing the key emphasis of Jesus words.

Also positively, Scott does a good job overall of including Jesus teaching on various topics that a "word search" would not necessarily include.

The major concern with the book is that each passage is included without (much) context and without interpretation. All of Jesus' words took place in a context, and a particular context within each Gospel. With no comment on either the context or some of the interpretive issues that could be significant due to the context, a novice student of the Bible could come into some confusion or misunderstanding. Since one of the audiences of this book is the not-yet-Christian seeker, it would seem significant to have some minor commentary in a few sections.

Another significant concern to me is the view of Scripture that such a book represents. In other words, if the words of Jesus are most important, what does this say about the inspiration and authority of the rest of Scripture. Jesus himself certainly viewed the Hebrew Scriptures as authoritative. Certainly Jesus is the Incarnate Word, yet the production of such a book seems to inadvertently minimize the importance of the rest of Scripture.

Overall, this could be a useful resource, but such accolades for a partial topical Bible seem a bit over the top.

PHEW - Parliament has been Prorogued!

Yes, I am one of many Canadian relieved that Governor General Michelle Jean has prorogued the Canadian parliament until January 26, 2009. I am hopeful that a number of things will happen in this prolonged Christmas break...for all the political parties.

1) The NDP/Liberal coalition continues to say that Prime Minister (PM) Stephen Harper does not have the support of the majority of parliament. They are correct! If you don't have a majority, you have a minority... hence the term "minority government." To say that more than 50% of parliament members do not support the Conservatives simply shows you can count... nothing more, nothing less.

2) The Liberal party especially should be thanking the Governor General that she accepted the Conservative government's request for a prorogue. I can't imagined they wanted to see Stephane Dion parade the name "Liberal" party around as PM for five months before their leadership convention and then have even more damage and destruction for the next leader to undo, apologize for, and somehow explain as not really the Liberal party.

Furthermore, had Dion been the PM, I believe they would have been required to call an election within a certain number of weeks with a new party leader and thus a new PM. I think the Liberal party will be quite glad to choose their new leader, let him/her settle into parliament as an MP and then gradually pick the issues on which they will platform in the next election against the Conservative party.

Though I still want to personally "cheer" for the Conservative party (I'm not a member of the party or anything), I must also say that PM Harper and the gov't have got to do a few things to show some kind of leadership... and soon!

1) They have got to quit attacking the Liberal/NDP coalition for being backed by "the separatists" or being willing to join formally or informally with the Bloc Quebecois. First, they would have done the same thing to defeat the Liberals not only in 2004 or 2000... that's what any secondary or tertiary party does on some issues to defeat a policy or group of policies they do not agree with. To attack the Liberals for aligning with either the NDP or BQ is simply immature and reveals a short-memory.

Even more strategically dangerous is the fact the the Conservative party was/is trying to win over BQ voters from the Liberals... and may have started making progress (or at least capitalizing on Dion's lack thereof). To start calling them names, may remind them why they do not want to vote Conservative, or even more terribly, may affirm in their minds that all "national parties" are foolish and that they really should give separation from Canada another attempt.

2) They have got to try to work with the other parties... and not only after they've been brought to the brink of disaster! The main reason they claimed to call the election in October was because they felt parliament was at a stand-still. Now, they have asked for parliament to be "halted" in order to continue to operate. (does anybody else see a problem with that last sentence?) If the Conservative party cannot make a minority gov't work, they better get out of the way and let someone else try.

3) Furthermore, as soon as the other parties started to question/critique their recent pre-budget announcements, the Conservative party back-pedalled on most/all of their decisions. This isn't leadership... this is "weather-watching"... ie let's see which way the sails blow when we send this idea out and then we'll decide if it is a good one! For example, if you do not believe that a stimulus package whereby citizens (not businesses) are given money to spend to stimulate the economy is the way to solve the problem... and I personally think they are correct... then stand by your policy. But just because Jack Layton and the NDP think that is a solution and then the Liberals and BQ agree, don't back down. Stand up for your policy and explain why it is the prudent decision at this time.

4) I almost wish that PM Harper would have let the Liberal/NDP coalition "try governing." No, it is not because I like their policies... at all. No, it is not because I suddenly think the Conservative party doesn't deserve my support. I do think the coalition "trying to govern" would have done two things. First, it would have shown the horrific leadership of Dion and the Liberal party at this time. Secondly, right now the Harper gov't looks like they are running scared. Admittedly, the majority of Cdn politicians in all parties have acted more like spoiled children in the last week than responsible governing leaders. However, it does seem like Harper ran to mommy crying "my friends aren't playing fair" and mommy simply said, "Oh that's okay little one. You come in the house and play by yourself for a while and I'll give you some milk and cookies and dry your tears and you can go out and play later when you feel better."